Preparing Your Clip-Ins
You’ve read the FAQ’s and you know that you a) want to get clip-in extensions and b) you are getting them from Bellami. Now that you have them in your hot little hands, it’s time to make them ready to be used for your wedding.
Real hair extensions are always treated before being packaged so they look smooth, glossy, and beautiful for display. The problem is, the products manufacturers use to make the hair look that great is waxy, sometimes smelly, and usually flat ironed.
TL, DR: Wash and dry new extensions, wash and dry used extensions, get extensions colored slightly darker at the root if needed, don’t trim.
1) Shampoo, condition, and fully dry your new clip-ins before the day of your wedding. You may even want to shampoo them twice. This will help remove any product that has been put on them that may make them difficult to style and hold. We recommend doing this right when you get them, and either blow-drying them or letting them air-dry, before putting them back in the original packaging. Never put wet hair back in the package, it will stay damp and start to smell. Don’t skip the conditioner either, just make sure it’s really well rinsed out. Your hair extensions should be prepared just like your own hair; clean and dry.
2) Color match your extensions with your at-home colorist. The rooty, darker at the base hair coloring is still trending, and many brides with highlights often get a more blended balayage look. Harsh lines of solid colored hair may be a little obvious in a final look. If you have multitone hair, bring your clip-ins to your last color appointment before your wedding day so that your colorist can match them to your own hair. It doesn’t need to be a perfect match at all - but a chunk of golden blond hair on a headful of buttery balayage may not look the way you envision it.
3) Do NOT trim your extensions. Get the right length the first time, 12 inches for mid or up styles and up to 20 for longer, down styles. A lot of length will come up during the curl process so they will shorten through styling anyways, but most importantly, hairstyles always look significantly better when the hair is tapered at the ends. Blunt haircuts, unless worn short and down, are notoriously difficult to lay right and look choppy. Your hairstylist may opt to trim certain pieces as a finishing touch to your bridal hairstyle, but leave the cutting to them. Please don’t hand us blunt-end extensions and then want them to blend beautifully.